Thursday, July 20, 2017

War for the Planet of the Apes

***DISCLAIMER***
The following review is entirely my opinion. If you comment (which I
encourage you to do) be respectful. If you don't agree with my opinion
(or other commenters),
that's fine. To each their own. These reviews
are not meant to be statements of facts or endorsements, I am just
sharing my opinions and my perspective when watching the film and is
not meant to reflect how these films should be viewed. Finally, the
reviews are given on a scale of 0-5. 0, of course, being
unwatchable. 1, being terrible. 2, being not great. 3, being okay.
4, being great and 5, being epic! And if you enjoy these reviews
feel free to share them and follow the blog or follow me on
Twitter (@RevRonster) for links to my reviews and the occasional
live-Tweet session of the movie I'm watching! I said, War for the Planet of the Apes, huh, good god ya'll...what is it good for?

War for the Planet of the Apes – 5 out of 5

I love the camp of the original Planet of the Apes films
(and the less I acknowledge the existence of Tim Burton’s one the better) but
this new rebooted franchise is just amazing!I absolutely love it and it feels like with every passing film they seem
to get better.Look, I have room in my
heart for both of the series but right now I’m going to talk about the latest release;
War for the Planet of the Apes, and it is awesome!

20th Century FoxCaesar's look of disappointment when someone ate his lunch out of the communal fridge.

Some time after the events of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Caesar (Andy Serkis) is trying to live a peaceful life in the forests
with the rest of his highly intelligent ape clan.However, after an attack from a military
group called Alpha Omega, led by a madly driven Colonel (Woody Harrelson),
against their camp, Caesar is forced to undergo a mission of revenge with his
clan seeks a land that promises them freedom and their own society.Along the way, Caesar learns that the world
that they know is changing more rapidly and dramatically than they realized and
nothing will ever be the same.

20th Century FoxAccessories makes the man...like sunglasses or a giant gorilla.

Like I stated earlier, I do enjoy the old sci-fi fun that is
the original series but this new franchise is really doing it for me.The darker twists the story takes combined
with its emphasis on the emotional drama and its state-of-the-art special
effects and motion capture work makes for a film that feels so amazingly
authentic and captivating.They really
show the depth that science fiction and storytelling can go.With every passing film, I find myself becoming
more engrossed with the universe they exist in and this one might be my
favorite one yet.

20th Century FoxThe real heroes of this film are the horses...for being able to carry that massive orangutan and the huge gorilla.

Co-writer and director
Matt Reeves (I’m excited to see what he brings to the table with Batman)
expanded on his work in the previous film and evolved the world exponentially
well.The way he used this film to
continue Caesar’s tale and also get us closer to the world that will be the
Planet of the Apes is nothing short of amazing to experience.Even more impressive is how Reeves never
rushed any development the film was taking.Everything about the story builds and evolves at its own needed pace but
it never made the plot feel like it was dragging or like the film had varying
paces—the whole thing felt like it ebbed and flowed at all the right parts and
it made the story even more compelling.Then, all of this built to a fantastic reward of some incredible action
in the final act.

20th Century FoxSure, if this was three humans it would be cool but being apes makesit was more epic.

However, this part is only a fraction of why this story is
incredible because he also majestically paints a beautifully tragic and
terrifically hopeful tale that is just overflowing with heart, emotion, and
drama.You find yourself invested in the
survival of the apes, appalled by the behavior of the humans, and entranced with
the burden of leadership and the wounds of heartbreak that Caesar carries
around with him.With a rousing score by
Michael Gracchino that highlights and enhances the drama and action, the end
result is a film that is both visually stunning but deeply satisfying on an emotional
level.I won’t lie, this film had me
tearing up on several occasions.Of
course, the film isn’t only just heaviness as there is a fair share of
light-hearted moments that are very amusing and can arrive and assist without
feeling they are taking away from the serious tone.For example, Steven Zahn joins the cast as
Bad Ape—an ape Caesar and the crew stumble upon and learn that the evolution of
apes is spreading across the world—and he provides a lot of fun but isn’t
causing a chaotic shift in tone.

20th Century FoxI really liked Bad Ape...both because he's funny and was played bySteve Zahn.

Another element that this franchise is known for is the way
it uses motion-capture animation to bring their apes to life.There is a charm to the marks with the wonky
mouths from the old days but this rebooted franchise is really bringing the
realism.With the master of mo-cap as
the lead once again, War actually feels like it has even better special
effects—which is pretty impressive considering how the other films are just
insanely well done.It was so easy to
get lost in the detail of the apes—the way their eyes moved, the flow of their
fur, the skin tones and facial expression.There was never a period where they felt like they were created in a
computer.They all looked so amazingly
real and it only worked to enhance the dramatic and emotional tone that Reeves
crafted.

20th Century FoxThis little human edition is a big hint of things to come with this franchise.

The final thing that really ties the film together is the
performances.Some people will look at
mo-cap characters and say they’re just made in a computer and the actor is only
giving them a voice but when you really absorb what a master like Andy Serkis
is doing you can see that’s a gross over-simplification that feels entirely
wrong.Yes, a team of animators is
making the character look real but the actor is giving them soul and their
performance is captured in that collection of pixels and one’s and zero’s.What you’re seeing may be rendered in a
computer but it’s still given life by the actors.It also goes without saying
that the flesh and blood cast—Woody Harrelson and Amiah Miller as the mute girl
Nova that orangutan Maurice (Karin Konoval) takes in—is all doing their job as
amazingly as the mo-cap cast.

20th Century FoxIs there a movie that Woody Harrelson sucks in? The answer is 'no.'

Did I find any drawbacks or anything that didn’t work about
War for the Planet of the Apes?Absolutely not.The storytelling,
the action, the drama, the special effects—everything about this film worked
for what it had to be and it delivered with a truly stunning film.There were some fantastic developments to the
mythology that kept it from being a filler film and it culminated in an ending
that was both emotional and hopeful.It’s strange to call a film about apes talking over the world of man
“beautiful” but that’s exactly what this film is.

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About Me

I'm a geek, an atheist (who is also an ordained reverend), a peanut butter and jelly enthusiast, a man who shares the same name with a popular character from "Parks & Rec" and feels he can't live up to the awesomeness of the fictional character, was proudly banned from Reddit, an occasional Shakespearean performer, and a stand up comic.
Have any questions, recommendations or wanna share any theories on various movies? Email me at RevRonMovies@gmail.com and I'll talk about them on my new Q&A segment!